Even as the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection vowed to work with industry to sustain economic growth, a wide range of businesses say DEP is sandbagging them with new “stream flow” regulations governing water resources.
DEP is developing so-called stream flow regulations, which all manner of businesses from developers to golf courses say would cost them hundreds of millions of dollars due to suppliers having to modify dams and pipelines while developing new sources of water supplies.
“Everyone ”“ residents, farmers, businesses, towns and cities ”“ should be concerned about the potential impact of DEP”™s proposed stream flow regulations on public water supplies,” said Elizabeth Gara, executive director of the Connecticut Water Works Association, in a prepared statement. “These regulations, if enacted, will result in severe water supply shortages in many communities ”¦ from (10 percent to 40 percent). This represents a dangerous drop in water supplies and would have serious implications for Connecticut”™s residents and communities.”
In hearings last spring to confirm her appointment as DEP commissioner, Amey Marrella said she had heard “loud and clear” on concerns from farmers and developers on stream-flow regulations, without specifying how she would act on those concerns. And in a report issued in late September, Marrella reiterated a general commitment to working with businesses while fulfilling her agency”™s mission in protecting the environment.
At the same time, Marrella cautioned that state budget cuts have strained her agency”™s resources, with a possible impact on the timing of regulatory decisions.
“At DEP, we understand that timely action on permits is a key component of the state”™s role in promoting sustainable economic growth,” Marrella stated in a letter to Gov. M. Jodi Rell. “While we have worked hard in the past few years to be more efficient and effective, we recognize there is still a great deal of work to do.”
Businesses will have a new voice to raise concerns with DEP ”“ Rell appointed a Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development employee as the state”™s first-ever permit ombudsman. Maya Loewenburg is to coordinate reviews and approvals of significant projects, and work with businesses, DEP, the state Department of Transportation, and the state Department of Public Health.
If the stream-flow regulations take hold, Loewenburg could find herself flooded early on with related concerns.
According to DEP”™s own data, critics say, just 0.4 percent of the state”™s rivers and streams are impaired due to stream-flow issues; nevertheless, the proposed regulations impose strict requirements on all public water suppliers and large water users across the state. Instead, they want plans developed for the actual water bodies with stream flow problems, rather than a raft of new regulations covering the entire state.
“The proposed regulations would significantly reduce the amount of water available to meet the needs of a variety of small businesses and their customers,” said Rick Willard, leadership council chairman for the National Federation of Independent Business, in a statement. “Small businesses such as farmers, car washes, golf courses, restaurants, laundry mats, nurseries and plumbing contractors all rely on a safe, adequate supply of potable water to operate their businesses and meet the needs of their customers. We are also concerned that the regulations allow DEP to order moratoriums on construction and economic development in certain communities.”
